부산대학교 도서관

Objective: Many researchers have considered obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) to be a neurodegenerative disease just like Alzheimer's disease (AD). The most studied gene in neurodegenerative diseases is apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene, and ApoE [epsilon]4 allele in particular. Although a small number of studies have explored the relationship between ApoE gene polymorphisms and OCD, the link between age at onset of OCD, its subtypes and ApoE gene polymorphisms has not been revealed so far. For this purpose, in our study, the relationship of ApoE gene polymorphisms with age at onset of OCD and its subtypes has been investigated to reveal their neurodegenerative connections. Patients and Methods: ApoE gene polymorphisms of 64 OCD and 28 healthy cases were studied using a LightCycler480 real-time PCR platform. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between groups of patients with early- and late-onset OCD in terms of age (p = 0.03), educational level (p = 0.00) and marital status (p = 0.002). ApoE [epsilon]4[epsilon]4 genotype, the prevalence of which is below 2% in healthy individuals, was not detected in our control groups; however, it was identified in 5.1% of our OCD cases. Correlation analysis revealed the presence of a potentially significant link between the hoarding obsession and presence of the [epsilon]4[epsilon]4 genotype. A significant correlation was detected between the presence of the [epsilon]3[epsilon]3 allele, the symmetry obsession and associated ordering compulsion in patients with OCD (p Conclusion: The ApoE gene polymorphism profile and age of onset in OCD patients may play critical roles in the development process of neurodegenerative characteristics of the disease. The small number of cases and the inability to perform brain imaging in patients to detect the neurodegenerative link in OCD are limitations of our study. In this respect, we suggest conduction of further studies with a greater number of patients who will also undergo brain imaging studies. In addition, OCD patients have other genes associated with neurodegenerative diseases that can be screened. Keywords: early-onset OCD, late-onset OCD, Alzheimer's disease, apoe gene, polymorphism
Introduction Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating disease characterized by repetitive, intrusive and unwanted thoughts, impulses, and images, often associated with recurrent, time-consuming and frequently ritualized compulsive behaviour. (1) [...]